News

Kennedy School of Practical Nursing & Review Center is beaming with pride as four (4) US State Board Examinees hurdled the tests in between Christmas 2008 and New Year 2009.

Jasmine Vicente, Ma. Lynette Robillos and Vercel May Catane, took the NCLEX just before Christmas last December 23, 2008 held at a Pearson Vue Testing Center in Manila.

Three days later, Vicente and Robillos receive the best Christmas gift they ever had, their passing NCLEX results, while Catane got hers just before the New Year.

Two weeks after New Year, on January 14, 2009 another NCLEX taker, Delsa Cagas, took the exam, alone, and made it, after days later!

The fantastic four are now preparing for their job placement in the US.

Quality Recruitment and Placement Services, Inc. (QRPSI), President, Dr. Belen Sering would be visiting the Philippines March 2009, looking forward to place Kennedy School of Practical Nursing and Review Center graduates and reviewees in any state in the US within the year.

US Recruiter finds way to Kennedy School Nurses

By Jan Larosa/ Philippine News Service

Impressed by the performance of a Kennedy School of Practical Nursing and Review Center graduate, Sonia Gador, Dr. Belen Sering, president and Chairman of the Board of the Quality Recruitment and Placement Services, Inc. (QRPSI), a New York City - based nurse agency, announced in a long distance live phone interview with Boy Quiros of DXNA, that her agency desires to petition 100 LPNs, 100 RNs and 50 PTs and Engineers.

Dr. Sering emphasized that she wanted to take the LPNs and RNs from the Kennedy School of Practical Nursing and Review Center, Inc., exclusively.

The deployment of these nurses may be all over the United States of America, East Coast to West Coast.

Dr. Sering, revealed that she has two big nursing homes clients who are in need of LPNs right away. She also added that LPNs are not affected by the recession in the United States.

When asked of the requirements and processes, she told Boy Quiros that she will just send them to KSPNRC for graduates to inquire.

In her last statement, Dr. Sering bared that she is coming to the Philippine on February or March and would drop by KSPNRC schools around the country together with KSPNRC President and CEO, Mr. Rufino Gonzales.

After a few minutes, Mr. Gonzales, phoned in from Houston, Texas, USA. He emphasized that Kennedy School is not a recruiter but a PN school and review center for LPNs and RNs.

Mr Gonzales also highlighted that KSPN is the only school whose graduates and reviewees pass the NCLEX-PN 100% and the only LPN review center that assists its reviewees in getting the Authority to Take the NCLEX Test (ATT).

The Kennedy School of Practical Nursing and Review Center has schools in Iloilo City, Baguio City and Oroquieta City with websites: www.krciloilo.com.

ACCORDING TO HOMELAND SECURITYWhy nursing shortage key to US economy

By Veronica UyINQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines -- The nursing shortage in the United States is so critical that the Ombudsman for Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recommended the facilitation of the migration process of foreign nurses there.

A report report on the situation said the US economy, considered to be in recession, depended a lot on the operation of hospitals.

"Hospitals are one of the largest private sector employers, hiring more than five million people and stimulating economic productivity," it said.

Citing a study by the American Hospital Association, the DHS'sOmbudsman for CIS said hospitals supported one of every 10 jobs in the US and $1.9 trillion of economic activity.

And registered nurses, who held 2.5 million jobs in 2006, are employed mostly in hospitals; others are employed in public health and long-term care facilities.

A nurse recruiter told the CIS Ombudsman that every time the vacancy rate for registered nurses went up one percent, a hospital could lose as much as $300,000.

The AHA said the impact of hospitals on US health care and economy could be best described by these figures: Every year, 35 million are admitted in hospitals, 118 million admitted in emergency rooms, 4 million babies delivered, and over 481 million outpatients treated.

On the quality of patient care under normal circumstances, the threat of the nursing shortage and the subsequent heavy workload for current nurses is especially revealing.

The American Association of Colleges of Nurses (AACN) said more nurses would mean less hospital-related mortality and shorter patient stays.

In contrast, "inadequate staffing was reported to compromise patient safety," the AACN said.

"Most RNs have voiced concerns that there is not enough time 'to maintain patient safety, detect complications early, and collaborate with team members,'" it added.

Inadequate nursing staff reflected in increasing incidents of lownurse-to-patient ratios in many hospitals "are no longer safe" and are in fact a "code violation."

The current shortage also makes it difficult for health facilities toexpand services or prepare for an emergency response. The CISOmbudsman was told that beds and wings of some hospitals were closed due to the shortage.

And in times of disaster, the nursing shortage would even be more critical. Members of the Americans for Nursing Shortage Relief testified before the subcommittee on Nursing Crisis at the House of Representatives that the shortage could result in "serious national security and health concerns if there is a pandemic flu or other man-made or natural disaster and the United States does not have adequate health care resources to respond."

During a hearing at the US Congress, it was learned that the USDepartment of Veterans Affairs has a current vacancy of registered nurses of 10 percent (the absolute figure is not available).

"Notably, the demand for nurses will continue to grow by 2 to 3percent each year," it said.

By 2014, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said, 1.2 million newregistered nurses would be needed to meet the country's nursingrequirements -- 500,000 to replace and another 700,000 to meet growing demand.

Aside from an aging US population that needs more health-care support, the CIS Ombudsman report cited the following factors for the projected increase in the nursing shortage: inadequate domestic facilities to educate and train nurses, the low number of nursing students, the existing aging workforce, and the barriers in the immigration process for foreign nurses.

The last factor is what the DHS seeks to address in its recommendation to facilitate the visa processing of foreign nurses, including Filipino nurses.

US demand for nurses to rise in ’14

MANILA, Philippines—The United States will need 1.2 million new nurses by 2014 to meet the growing demands of its aging population and to fill in for retiring health workers, a recruitment consultant said over the weekend.

Citing a report from the US Department of Health and Human Services, recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani said the US will need 500,000 nurses to replace those leaving the service and 700,000 more to take care of the aging baby boomers in the coming years.

Geslani, however, said Filipino nurses should not pin all their hopes on the American market.

According to Geslani, who works for the Federated Association of Manpower Exporters (FAME), an umbrella group of recruiters, the US States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has yet to adopt rules that would expedite the processing of visas for foreign nurses.

There have been proposals to the USCIS to have a dedicated lane and category for foreign nurses to fast track their visa applications. Geslani said the USCIS is still studying the proposal and it may take the agency sometime to reach a decision on the matter.

“The nursing shortage in the US may not be solved in the immediate future as policy recommendations will have to be approved and the red tape involved in the processing of nurses visas will have to be resolved without the CIS letting up on its safeguards in setting up standards for foreign nurses qualifications,” he said.

Geslani and FAME urged Filipino nurses not to wait for the US market to open up. They noted that they could apply to health facilities in the Middle East. Although the pay in Middle East is lower than in the US, Filipino nurses do not have to wait for years before getting a job there, Geslani said.

KSPNRC Congratulates our new US State Board Passers for Practical Nursing.